Legal Battle Brews Over School Plans

NORTH BARRINGTON — A Christian school hoping to build near North Barrington and officials of Cuba Township who fear increases in traffic might air their arguments before a Lake County judge, despite the school's call to dismiss a legal challenge to the project.

The Wauconda-based Northwest Suburban Christian Academy plans to build a school on 10 acres of unincorporated land at 23385 W. Old Barrington Rd.

But Cuba Township, which maintains Old Barrington Road, wants the plans halted until the academy conducts traffic and engineering tests of the school's potential effect on the road.

The township filed an injunction Oct. 8 in the Circuit Court of Lake County. The academy's attorney responded Wednesday, saying legal action is premature and calling for the township to drop the injunction by Monday or face legal retaliation.

"People are up in arms about this, and we haven't even done anything yet," said Colette Szczesny, an academy board member. "We want to be good neighbors, and we're willing to work with people in the community."

Cuba Township Atty. Thomas Gooch criticized the academy in a sharply worded letter Thursday, saying it refused to cooperate with township highway officials and declined to reveal exactly what will be built on the site.

"Of course we're not going to withdraw the injunction," Gooch said.

Attorney Ronald Senechalle, who represents the non-denominational Christian academy, explained that the academy has made no formal applications to Lake County for building or occupancy permits.

"There is no controversy for a court to adjudicate," Senechalle said.

But six weeks of arguments may indicate otherwise.

The academy purchased the land at the quiet corner of Old Barrington and Signal Hill Roads in August in hopes of accommodating a growing student population.

The Wauconda academy has 72 students, and with more space, attendance could grow to 100 next year, Szczesny said.

"We felt, based on the growth of the school and on demographics, that we wanted to move the school closer to the Barrington area," she said.

The kindergarten-through-8th grade school draws students from Wauconda, Mundelein, Barrington, Lake Zurich and Hawthorn Woods. It is not affiliated with any particular church, and is funded through tuition and donations.

The 10-acre parcel the academy purchased is between North Barrington and Lake Barrington. Several buildings are on the land, including a 5,000-square-foot structure the school hopes to convert into a gym and multipurpose area.

A concept plan submitted to the county showed the new academy would include classrooms, an administration building, softball and soccer fields and a parking lot. The final development also could include a separate science lab and riding stables.

Though the property is zoned for single-family homes on 5-acre lots, a school also could be built there under the county's zoning rules.

Township officials argue that Old Barrington Road cannot handle the traffic increase--estimated at more than 1,200 car trips per day--if the new school is filled to its 300-student capacity.

The narrow, two-lane street could need up to $1 million in improvements, officials said in the injunction.

"All the township is trying to do, if there is to be a school on the property, is to make sure that traffic can access the property under safe conditions," Gooch said.

North Barrington, which surrounds much of the parcel, also is concerned about too much traffic. It is looking for its own ways to stop the academy, said Village Atty. William Braithwaite.

He declined to reveal what options the village has, but added: "We're not just watching; we're considering action."

Parents of academy students car pool to and from Wauconda, and would be encouraged to do the same in the Barrington area, Szczesny said. Students who live in nearby school districts also could be bused to the academy.